The Nature of Family

What does it mean to be a family? Soon, parts of our extended family will be joining us to celebrate my daughter's graduation from Linfield College. Ours is a scattered family with infrequent visits and widely ranging lifestyles. Still, we are a valuable support network, a safe harbor for one another.

I've often thought that people form the families they need at the times they most need them. Animals do, too.

No doubt about it, the Charolais cattle in the upper pastures are a bona fide family. I purchased Tad, a steer, and Tad's half-sister, Daisy, when the pair was six or seven months old. They've been pasture mates every since -- all but for the short time preceeding the arrival of Daisy's first calf, Tip, this past March.

Tip with Daisy and Tad in the Background

Back then, Tad was housed in the adjacent pasture and Daisy had the company of Libbey and Tove, our two Black Angus heifers. The night Tip was born, Libbey and Tove became rough with the calf and I moved them to a pen to give Daisy and Tip some breathing space.

All the while, Tad kept watch from his pasture. When Tip was a week old, I noticed the gate between the two pastures was open. The chain, a difficult clip lock, had simply been undone, not broken. Frantic, I searched for Tad and what I saw was truly amazing.

The big steer was standing under the temporary shelter we had constructed for Daisy and Tip. There, nestled in the straw and lying at Tad's hooves, was Daisy's tiny calf, Tip. My eyes swept the pasture and yup, Daisy was there, grazing at a distance. Clearly, mama had left Tad in charge of her child.

Since then, I've watched in awe as the big steer has groomed, played with, and defended Tip.

Families happen in all the right places.